Contractor's ladder fall costs company $85,000

A contractor's 5m fall from a ladder has cost an Auckland-based company thousands. File photo / NZ Herald

A contractor's 5m fall from a ladder has cost an Auckland-based company $55,000 in fines and $30,000 reparation.

Waitakere Contractors Limited, a spouting manufacturer and installer, pleaded guilty in Auckland District Court to three charges under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992.

The court was told the company hired two contractors to replace the spouting at a flat in suburban Avondale.

While measuring the side of the flat one of the contractors lost his footing on the ladder and fell five metres to the ground.

Department of Labour northern regional manager Claire Morris said the contractor was lucky to be alive.

"He fractured his skull, broke five ribs, his nose, his left eye socket and his wrist - as well as cracking his cheek bone and suffering severe internal bruising," she said.

Doing such work from a ladder was inherently unsafe, especially when having to measure, handle and attach lengths of spouting approximately 13.5 metres long, Ms Morris said.

"The company should have supplied scaffolding or an elevated work platform to make sure the contractors could work safely."

She said the company also failed to notify the department about the accident for three days and when inspectors arrived at the site they found it had been interfered with and all the equipment had been removed.

"This is totally unacceptable."

Ms Morris said the sentence served as a reminder to companies to not only ensure their employees and contractors were safe at work, but that they must notify the department of accidents as soon as possible and must not to tamper with the scene.

The company was fined $55,000 and ordered to pay reparations of $30,000 to the injured contractor.

- NZPA